Vacuum breaker



NV- 6, 1945. R. M. NELSON v 2,388,432

VACUUM BREAKER Filed Jan. 16, 1945 mvENroR RALPH M. NELSON ATTORNEY Patenterl NonJ 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VACUUM BREAKEB Ralph M. Nelson, River Forest, Ill.,A asllgnor to Sloan Valve Company, Chicago. Ill., a corpora tion of Illinois Application January 16, 1943, Serial No. 472,606

lClaim.

supply systems where there is danger`that backv syphonage will occur and create a hazardous health condition whenever a vacuum condition is present in the water supply pipe line. The provision of vacuum breakers in connection with sanitary plumbing ilxtures such as water closet installations is mandatory in practically all communities at the present time and usually is furnished as standard equipment with the plumbing iixtures to guard the health of the community. This almost universal use of vacuum breakers makes it necessary that precautions be exercised to insure the safe and reliable operation of the devices under all conditions in'which they may be used, but up to the present time no known means have been provided which can detect any inoperativeness of the devices.

It is customary to provide vacuum breakers with a hinged valve member which is adapted to swing into engagement with anair inlet seat upon the passage of water through the vacuum breaker, in order to obviate leakage through the air inlet passage. When a vacuum condition occurs, however, in the water supply pipe line, the valve member automatically swings in the opposite direction into engagement with the water inlet seat, to prevent back syphonage and at the same time widely opens the air inlet which is thereby effective to break the vacuum condition After a period of extended use, foreign matter may accumulate upon the valve member or the valve seats, or corrosive action may take place due to the constant wetting and drying of the parts and to chemical action between the rubber valve and the brass air inlet seat. Subsequently the aforesaid accumulation of foreign matter becomes somewhat hardened and acts as an adhesive to seal or freeze the valve member more or less permanently upon one of the valve seats. In the event that this sealing action takes place of water through it. The precise position of the valve member cannot be ascertained without completely dismanteling or removing the vacuum breaker device from the sanitary' fixture with which it is associated. This condition may persist indenitely without detection and will even'- tually endanger a community by contaminating the entire water supply system.

It is accordingly an object of the present inven.

tion to provide a new and improved vacuum breaker in which the exact position of the valve member is readily perceived and in which any operativeness oiA the device will at all times be apparent without dismantling the same.

A further object is to provide a' vacuum breaker in which the rubber valve seating member and air inlet seat are so constituted that the danger of freezing or sticking of the valve member upon the seat due'to chemical action is greatly minimized.

the air inlet opening is usually in the form of a with the air inlet seat, it will be readily apparent that the occurrence of a vacuum condition will fail to automatically swing the valve member away from the air inlet seat and this failure will result in the contents of the sanitary xture being syphoned back into the supply pipe line. 'I'his inoperative condition of the valve member will not be apparent and cannot be detected since the vacuum breaker readily permits the free passage hood or screen to prevent the introduction of insects or foreign objects into the interior of fthe vacuum breaker. It is diilcult to perceive when a clogged condition of these air openings occurs and since this results in a restriction in the area of the air opening if not a complete obstruction of the same, it will be apparent that there is danger that back syphonage will take place upon the occurrence of a vacuum condition in the supply pipeline. v

It is accordingly a further object of the invention -to provide a vacuum breaker in which condition of the air inlet passage is readily observable at all times and the presence of foreign objects may be readily detected.

With the above and other objects in View which' will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangements of parts which will hereinafter be fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

In the accompanying drawing there is illustrated several preferred forms of the invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a water closet installation including a ush valve equipped with a; vacuum breaker embodying the features of the invention; Y

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the preferred form of vacuum breaker shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a modiiled form of the vacuum breaker of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a further modincation of the vacuum breaker, while Fig. 5 is a perspective view oi' the valve member incorporated in the vacuum breaker.

The vacuum breaker disclosed herein is generally of the construction disclosed and claimed in Patent 2,302,151, issued to W. E. Sloan and I. H. Russell November 17, 1942, but certain features of the present invention constitute an improvement thereon and are distinguished therefrom as will be pointed out.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a view showing a vacuum breaker embodying the present invention, used in connection with an. ordinary water closet for example. As shown, a flush valve or metering valve 4 of well known construction is provided with the usual adjustable throttle or stop valve 5 arranged in the water supply line. The ilush valve 4 is provided with the handle 8, which upon being operated causes the ilush valve to be actuated and pass a metered quantity of water. The outlet of the ush valve 4 is provided with a discharge pipe 1 which discharges the metered quantity of water directly into the closet bowl 8 and eil'ects a ushing operation of the contents thereof. Arranged in position between the outlet end of the ilush valve 4 and the closet bowl 8, is a vacuum breaker indicated generally at 9 and embodying one form of the invention. As is apparent from Fig.' l, if the vacuum breaker is of the type disclosed in the aforementioned patent, there is no assurance after its installation that it will always be in continuous proper operating condition, since the ilush valve 4 readily functions to ush the tilet bowl 8 each time in the proper manner.

In one of its preferred constructions the vacuum breaker il comprises an outer cylindrical casing I0 having an annular inlet fitting I arranged on its upper end which is internally threaded to engage the lower body portion of the iiush valve 4 and support the vacuum breaker in position. A

flange portion I2 set in an annular slot in the tting and suitably fused as indicated at I3 rigidly secures these two parts together as a unit. At the lower outlet end of the vacuum breaker the tail piece 1 is connected thereto and is limited the vacuum breaker immediately below the iiush valve and somewhat above the bowl 8 places it in a position as seen in Fig. 1 where it is readily visible for close inspection and since it forms a part of the connection, is relatively inconspicuous.

The inner elements of the vacuum breaker include the cylindrical casing I1 inserted from the top of the outer casing Ill concentric therewith and limtied in its insertion by the ledge I4, suitable sealing means such as the rubber packing ring I8 sealing the top ends of the casings. Extending diagonally within the inner casing I1 is a partition I9 having an annular opening 20 therein which constitutes the water inlet opening, while the wall of the casing is provided with a side opening 2| which constitutes the air inlet opening for the device. The edges of these openings 2II and 2| define the water inlet and air inlet seats respectively, which are adapted to be closed by a valve member 22 arranged for free swinging movement between the two seats and the air openings.

hinged at its upper end by pin 28 resting between the forked ends of a bracket 24,*the bracket in turn being secured to the inner casing wall by the screw 2l. The assembly oi the valve member z2 and associated parts is more clearly seen in the drawing of Fig 5. In order to insure seating with the air inlet seat 2 I the valve member 22 is provided with a rubber seating disc 28 and a weight member 21 secured to one side of the valve member 22 serves as a biasing means to balance the valve member normally in a position between the two valve seats, but preferably somewhat closer to the water inlet seat 28 as shown. The weight 21 helps to insure that the valve member 22 will always move away from the air inlet seat 2| after a flushing operation under all ordinary conditions of operation.

Communication between the inside of the inner casing I1 and the outside of outer casing Il is established through the air openings 28 around the top of the casing il, a series of Junction portions 29 connecting the bottom portion of casing Il with its annular flanged portion i2. In order to protect the air inle'topenings 28 from entry or insertion of foreign matter as much as possible, a hooded annular portion on the inlet fitting is provided and arranged to overhang It will be noted that an air chamber 3 i yand 82 exists between the two casings Iii and I1. This is provided to catch any slight splashing or leakage which may be caused by operation of the device and to permit this leakage to drain into the outlet 1 through the air inlet passage 2| after the device has been actuated.

In the normal operation of the vacuum breaker, the passage of water through it causes the valve member 22 to close tightly upon the air inlet seat 2| closing off the air passage and opening wide the water inlet 20. When the iiow ceases, the weight 21 causes the valve member 22 to move olf of the air inlet seat 2| to a position between the two valve seats. Upon the occurrence of a vacuum condition in the system originating above the vacuum breaker, the valve member 22 is caused to move onto the water inlet seat 20 closing off the same and preventing contaminated water in the bowl 8 from being sucked upward through pipe 1. At the same time, the air inlet opening 2| is opened widely permitting atmospheric pressure to pass through air inlets 28 effectively breaking the vacuum condition. Under ordinary conditions, the device functions as stated. However, under abnormal conditions such as when the device is subjected to an indefinite continuous flow of water, hot water is passed through it, or the Water has a large amount of corrosive chemicals in it, the valve member 28 may stick against the air inlet seat 2| and become welded to it due to the chemical corrosive action taking place between the rubber seat of the valve member 22 and the air inlet seat 2|. Under such circumstances the device is rendered inoperative for its purpose and since the condition cannot possibly be observed without dismantling the device the health of a community is seriously endangered.

According to the present invention, the outer cylindrical casing I0 of Figs. 1 and 2 is constructed of a material which is entirely transparent so that the internal elements which this casing surrounds can be readily visible from the exterior. The inner casing I1 likewise is preferably made of a transparent material, both casings utilizing as the transparent material any clear glass, or plastic substance which is easily moulded or z`ormed into the desired shape. An example of naterials readily lending themselves to this purpose and at present available commercially are the clear transparent plastics known to the trade as Lucite, Tenite, Styron and many others. With such a construction, the exact operation of the valve member 22 can be constantly observed and its movement between the associated valve seats quickly checked. The position of the vacuum breaker above the closet bowl 8 is high enough so that inspection is easily made and since the vacuum breaker is connected up on the outlet low pressure side of the flush valve I, the material of which it is made need not have great tensile strength.

In the event that the valve member 22 should become stuck or freeze" upon the air inlet seat 2| as has been explained, this condition can be observed immediately because oi' the transparency of the two casings l and IT, and the abnormal hazardous condition be corrected by dismantling the vacuum breaker and repairing or replacing the same, it being understood, of course, that the valve member 22 is made of an opaque material so that itis visible inail of its positions. The inner casing I1 can be positioned in the outer casing lo so that the valve member 22 is viewed either from the position shown in Fig. 2 or a position from the left side of this drawing. In either event, the condition of the valve with respect to opening 2| can be readily ascertained. The com-bination tting Il and hood portion 30 are also made of a transparent material so that should the air inlet openings 28 become obstructed by foreign material or partially so, the condition can be quickly detected through the transparent hood 30 and removed so that a large free passage for air to the interior of the device is effective to break a vacuum condition.

Another advantage of constructing the casings of plastic material is that this material is relatively inert to chemical action or corrosive effects in the presence of water and therefore the possibility of the rubber seat o! the valve member 22 sticking upon the air inlet or water inlet seat is greatly minimized.

By molding the casings I0 and Iland iltting il of the relatively inexpensive plastic material, fewer parts are required in the device, resulting in a reduction in the cost as well as facilitating the assembly of the same.

Referring to the modincation shown in Fig. 3, this shows an outer casing I0 made of a transparent plastic material while the inner casing 4I may be made of brass tubing, for example, of the type disclosed in the prior mentioned Patent 2,302,151. With such an arrangement, the position of valve member 42 with its weight 42 can readily be observed through the transparent outer casing Il, and the spacing u between the bil valve member 42 and the associated air inlet seat 45 at all times indicates that the device is in its correct operating position. The transparent hood I6 also serves to render the air inlet openings such as 28 of Fig. 2 visible for inspection.

In the modication illustrated ln-Fig. 4, both the outer casing and the hooded portion Il, as well asthe inner casing l2, are constructed of an opaque material such as brass, and in order to observe whether the inner mechanism is functioning properly, an opening is cut in the side of outer casing 50 and covered over with a window 53 sealed with a gasket 54 and held in place by the screws 55. The' relative position of the valve member 56 and its weight 51 with respect to tive air inlet seat 58 may be quickly perceived at all times. This modincation lends itself readily toexisting installations where it is not feasible to provide a new transparent vacuum breaker arrangement such as in Fig. 2.

While several modiiications of the invention have been disclosed and described, it is clear that the broad general principles are applicable to many other variations and it is therefore to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise forms illustrated but only bythe scope of the limitations expressed in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a vacuum breaker, a one-piece valve body including a generally cylindrical side wall, a vertical partition, and an inclined partition, said partitions being integral with said side wall and defining, with said side wall, a plurality of chambers, including an open bottomed valve chamber between said partitions, said partitions having aligned valve ports, an integral bottom wall extending outwardly from the bottom of the vertical partition a curved bottom wall. extending upwardly and outwardly from the lower edge of the inclined partition to the side wall, a valve member movably mounted in said valve chamber and adapted for closing engagement with either port, said valve member being diiferentiated in color from said valve body. retaining and hinge means for said valve memberl including a bracket mounted on said vertical partition and extending toward said inclined partition. and securing means for said bracket, located on the side of said vertical partition opposite to said bracket, and readily accessible from outside of the valve body, and an outer housing surrounding said unitary valve body and formed of transparent material, whereby the relative position of said valve member in relation to said valve body may readily be observed through said outer housing, said outer housing being constituted by a single circumferentially extending body of trans.. parent plastic material.

RALPH M. NELSON. 

